Safe Distance
by Seasons-in-DL
Summary: On a different continuity to any of my other fics, this is an exploration of More,Blood Episode 09 from Yui's point of view. Not precisely smutty but contains biting, heavy breathing and DAMMIT REIJI; exercise judgement. Oneshot, complete.
Yui hesitated for a moment before knocking at the polished wood of Reiji's study door. She was supposed to be resting in her own room, recovering from Ruki's near-fatal attempts to produce his Adam; but she'd found herself unable to settle. She'd sat staring out at the night in a kind of trance, while her mind returned again and again to the same questions. Eve… Adam… "That man"…

Yui had been feeling her isolation keenly. If only there had been someone in the household she could talk to, someone who could share her fears and concerns; but as the human "guest" of the Sakamaki brothers, she had no allies here. No friends.

Since her rescue from the Mukamis, she had felt more like prey than ever. Regardless of her weakened condition, the brothers all seemed intent on leaving their mark. Each of them had either railed at her for her supposed disloyalty, or tried to assert his ownership with tooth and claw.

With one exception.

Reiji barely seemed to care that she'd been gone. He certainly hadn't been sympathetic, only irritated by her lack of intelligence on the Mukami household; however, he had not laid hands on her or tried to erase their marks with his own. Reiji was no friend to her – she knew all too well what he was and how little her existence meant to him. In contrast with his brothers, though, his detachment was almost comforting.

And Reiji seemed to know something about the Mukamis and their "Eve", or at least to have some theories he might be willing to share. He probably wouldn't appreciate the disturbance, but surely he wouldn't be too angry if she was asking him about something so important? Perhaps she could even be of help to him.

That was how she came to be standing outside his study, screwing up the nerve to knock. She knew she shouldn't dither too long in the hall; one of the brothers was sure to find her here, and the meeting was unlikely to be a pleasant one. Rallying her courage, she tapped lightly on the door.

"Reiji-san? May I come in?"

"Please do."

There was no trace of annoyance in his voice. He didn't even sound surprised; it was almost as if he'd he been expecting her. "I'm sorry to intrude," she told him as she stepped into the room.

Reiji was standing at his desk, immersed in a leather-bound book. A stack of similar volumes in front of him suggested that he'd been hard at work – perhaps on the very problem that troubled her. He made no move to set it down as she came in.

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This kind of aloofness was customary with Reiji. It didn't trouble her as it once had; she was used to his being so immersed in his researches that he couldn't tear his attention away. Emboldened a little by his stillness, Yui walked closer to the desk.

"Is something the matter?" Reiji asked, still without looking up from his book.

Yui struggled to answer. Her questions and concerns were all so very nebulous; they resisted being put into words. "Um… I thought Reiji-san might know… that is, I was wondering… about the reason for my being called Eve?"

He did not reply, only turned a page with conspicuous disinterest. She struggled on: "What does this have to do with my blood? And… and who was the man all the Mukami boys were talking about? Who is 'that person'?"

That, at least, got his attention. He gave a small laugh and set down his book. "That isn't something you need to know about," he told her.

A shocked sound burst from her throat. "Eh?"

How could he say that? Everything about this situation affected her directly. She was the one who'd been stolen away, held captive, brought close to death by Ruki's obsession with producing an Adam for "that person". Couldn't Reiji have told her just a little? And his voice was so condescending, as if he were speaking to an intrusively curious child.

Reiji turned towards her, amusement at her discomfiture showed plainly on his face. "In the first place," he said, with an unaccustomed smile, "I don't think his plan could work." The smile widened as he took in her expression.

His demeanour made her nervous, suddenly. She'd been prepared for irritation, contempt, even anger; this was something different. He was enjoying her confusion a little too much, revelling in her fear and ignorance a little too gladly. There was something in his expression that she couldn't interpret; he seemed to be savouring a private joke at her expense. "What… what are you talking about?" she stammered.

The attack was so swift and unexpected that she barely realized anything was happening until it was too late. A gloved hand seized her left wrist and she was forced backwards, stumbling, till she collided with one of Reiji's work-tables. There was a moment of vertigo, and then she was on her back looking up at him. "Reiji-san!"

He chuckled. "You really are a fool," he told her softly, almost affectionately. He was leaning over her, pinning her wrists with his hands; his arms were outstretched, his body arched over hers. His expression mingled amusement and predatory intent, wickedly gleeful. white teeth glimmered in a knowing smirk.

No… he couldn't be about to… but he'd been so distant, so clearly uninterested…

"The fact is, your blood is special." He drew her right arm up towards him. Cold seemed to radiate from his face, chilling her skin. Reiji was still smirking when he buried his sharp teeth in the soft flesh with a small moan of pleasure.

Yui was too stunned to speak. She couldn't even tear her gaze away. All she could do was watch in disbelief as the vampire, so coldly detached a few moments before, gave himself over to desire. His eyes were shut in rapture as he fed, either oblivious to Yui's stifled cries of pain or relishing them. She could hear the harsh breaths he took between each sip, his body seeming to forget that it was a dead man's.

After a few swallows, he withdrew. He looked blissful, almost reverent. His eyes were still closed, the long dark lashes starkly black against his cheeks; his pale lips were curved into a faint smile. They rested for an instant against her skin before he pulled away, like a kiss.

 _He is beautiful,_ she found herself thinking. She wondered if she was going mad.

Surely it was over now; surely he would let her go? But he still held her there, pinned down painfully against the hard wood of the desk. He'd dug deeply into her arm, and the blood flowed freely from the wounds he'd made. "This blood…" he breathed. His voice was still soft, still held that strange, gloating tenderness. "This blood, and therefore, you." He was breathing deeply – inhaling in her scent, she realized. Taking in the fragrance of her blood, her fear.

"This scent," he murmured, "makes everyone go insane." His lips had moved to her left wrist now, and to her distress Yui realized he wasn't done after all. She closed her eyes as he bit down and fed again, his breath coming harsher than ever. His body was no longer held away from her; now his chest was pressed against her own, and his weight was starting to crush her against the desk. He took his lips away from the wound, but he still didn't pull back.

She opened her eyes when she felt Reiji's breath in her face, no longer cold but almost hot against her skin. His gaze was terrifying, full of a calculating hunger; but there was a yearning in it too, almost a kind of twisted affection. His face was very close to hers, and for a moment she thought he might kiss her; then he was moving lower still. "That others should steal this blood…" he whispered hoarsely, "…it's unpleasant." She felt his lips on her throat, and the real feeding began.

Had he planned this from the start? There was something ritualistic about the way he'd taken her: first one wrist, then the other; then her throat… He seemed to take such delight in it. She realized suddenly that she'd never told him _No_ , and tried to speak; but she was beyond words.

The last things Yui knew before unconsciousness were Reiji's arms moving to encircle her body, his roughening breath, his sighs; and the pain of his bite, fading into pleasure as the darkness took her away.


End file.
